The German company will mobilize 7 billion euros and create 3,000 jobs.
The Volkswagen Group officially announced this Wednesday that it will build a gigafactory for electric vehicle batteries in Sagunto (Valencia), which is planned to be built in Spain. Aragon, Extremadura and Cataloni Asia also chose the factory.
Seat Chairman Wayne Griffiths and Seat Board Chairman Thomas Schmall confirmed in a press conference the selection of Sagunto to house this critical infrastructure for the transformation of the Spanish automotive industry, to demonstrate the results of Seat from 2021.
The Gigafactory will create around 3,000 jobs, according to data published by Schmall, which indicates the infrastructure is part of a 7 billion euro investment by a German consortium.
“This will be the largest industrial investment in Spain’s history,” said Griffiths, who also announced that in the coming days and weeks they would submit applications to qualify for Perte’s electric vehicle assistance.
The president of Seat expressed his confidence that the consortium’s plans in Spain can become a reality, which includes the production of around 500,000 electric vehicles at the Martorell plant (Barcelona) by 2025, in addition to hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles in Pamplona.
Griffiths has said “you have to go out and win”, but admits they can’t do it “alone”, for which he has asked for help from the government and municipalities to improve charging infrastructure and aid in buying electric vehicles.
Marotto celebrates Volkswagen’s decision
Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, celebrated the Volkswagen Group’s decision to install a battery plant in Spain, particularly in the Valencia town of Sagunto.
“It’s good news that the Volkswagen Group has chosen our country to build the battery gigafactory,” he tweeted after hearing the news at the SEAT brand results launch.
The representatives of the Industrial, Commercial and Tourism portfolio would like to emphasize that this shows Spain’s confidence in attracting investment: “This factory in Sagunto encourages us to continue our efforts to build a sustainable mobility ecosystem in Spain”.
